Nullifying Dual Citizenship Law in Liberia: What the Supreme Court Ruling Means
Published: 24/Déc/2019
Source: Front Page Africa (Monrovia)
By Rodney Sieh
Monrovia – A Supreme Court ruling Monday, inspired by the perseverance of Cllr. Seward Cooper, a former legal advisor to former President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf and his client Attorney A Teage Jalloh, nullifying the controversial laws barring dual citizenship ended nearly a decade-old quest to bring closure to a nagging issue that has kept Diaspora-based Liberians on edge about the uncertainty regarding their standing in the land of their birth.
Atty. Jalloh, a Liberian-born with American citizenship was denied travel documents by the Liberian embassy in Washington, DC after being told he needed a non-immigrant Liberian visa before he could be permitted to enter Liberia.
Atty. Jalloh took his fight to the high court, arguing that Sections 22.2 of the Alien and Nationality Law which were enacted before the adoption of the 1986 constitution, purports to automatically-deprived Liberian citizens of their citizenship rights if they do certain things such as vote in the elections of a foreign country or join the military of another country. Teage contended that these laws were repealed b Article 95(a) of the 1986 constitution as being inconsistent with the due process clause of Article 20(a).
Read further: https://frontpageafricaonline.com/news/analysis-nullifying-dual-citizenship-in-liberia-what-the-supreme-court-ruling-means/